Shirt collar forming machine



April 5, 1960 F.'REN|CK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 vINVENTOR. 49 FELIX RENICK ATTORNEY F. RENICK SHIRT COLLAR FORMINGMACHINE April 5, 1960 Filed April 3, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.FELIX RENICK BY Q ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1957 ll Shee ts-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR.

FELIX R NICK M k ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 7 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR.

FELIX RENICK ATTORNEY,

April 5, 1960 Filed April 3, 1957 F. RENICK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. FELIX RENICKATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet s FIG./3

IN VEN TOR.

FELIX RENICK ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 2,931,545

' sum-r COLLAR FORMING momma Filed April 3. ,1957

l1 Sheets-Sheet 7 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1957 ll shegts-sheet 8 ll :0n

,, FIG. 7

ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 Filed April 3, 1957 F. RENICK SHIRT COLLARFORMING MACHINE 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 FIG. /8

IN V EN TOR.

FELIX Ra ATTOR NEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINEl1 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed April 3, 1957 INVENTOR.

FELIX RENI K BY 5 ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 F. RENICK 2,931,545

SHIRT COLLAR FORMING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet ll FIG.22

w 1 FIG. 24 HEAT ,/82

( 6 l8 INVENTOR. 49 425 FELIX RENICK ATTORNEY 2,931,545 sr COLLARFORMING MACHINE Felix Renick, Southport, Maine Application April 3,1957, Serial No. 656,356 1 Claim. or. 223-521 The present inventionrelates to a shirt ironing and collar forming machine and itparticularly relates to a machine of the character described, which mayeither be used by shirt manufacturers or by laundries. 1

In preparing mens shirts and in some instances womens blouses for saleor return to the consumer, whether it be a shirt manufacturing concernor laundry, it is desirable to shape and form the collar in accordancewith the established trade practices.

In connection with a manufactured new shirt, which is to be soldinitially to a consumer, before laundering the collar desirably muststand up from the shirt at a substantial angle to the main body of theshirt, which re-, quires predetermined manipulation of the collar sothat it will be in proper shape and project at a proper angle from thebody of the shirt.

On the other hand, when a man's shirt is returned from the laundry theshirt is usually prepared so that the collar only slightly stands upfrom the body of the shirt or so that it is relatively flattened orpositioned in the same plane as the body of the shirt.

To accomplish these collar forming and shirt preparation operations byhand requires considerable labor and manipulation and only a relativelylimited number of shirts may be processed per unit time, with resultantgreat expense and increase inthe unit cost incidental to the launderingoperation.

Furthermore, hand shaping and forming operations do not produce thedesired predetermined finish and result in irregularity from shirt toshirt or even in each shirt, resulting in difficulties in packaging andboxing, which depend upon a predetermined width and depth being occupiedby each shirt incidental to shipping, storing, merchandising and otherhandling operations.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide anovel collar forming and shirt folding mechanism, broadly adapted foreither manufactured or laundered shirts, which may be widely utilized byrelatively unskilled labor and which will enable a high unit productionof folded and collar formed shirts with a minimum of manual operationand a minimum of labor costs.

Another object is to provide a system for folding and forming shirts andshirt collars particularly incidental to the manufacture thereof inwhich a high degree of uniformity will be achieved particularly inconnection with the shirt folding and forming operations and particularly in respect to the elevation and angle of the collars thereof.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thismore detailed description is given by way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changestherein may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the aboveobjects it has been found n s a e ice mostsatisfactory according to one-embodiment of the present invention toprovide a table having a swinging leaf member which will carry the bodyof the shirt with the collar of the shirt being engaged by a series ofswinging jaw members one of which is provided for each corner or angleof the shirt collar. V

In the preferred form a pneumatic expander is provided which will engagethe collar of the shirt after the shirt has been buttoned, and hold itin the predetermined angled position in which the collar is to bepermanently formed for merchandising or display.

At the same time the plate which holds the body of the shirt will serveas a carrier enabling the sleeves to be folded and the tails of theshirt to be placed in proper position so that when the shirt is removedfrom the table it will be in completely folded condition readyto beinserted in the box or into an external merchandising envelope orfolder.

In the preferred form of the invention the collar expanding members arethree in number, two expanding laterally to form the sides of the collarand the third expanding forwardly to form-the front of the collaradjacent the junction of the neckband.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the inventio'n consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts ashereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention,but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modificationscan be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claim hereuntoappended.

' line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of acollar forming and shirt folding machine according to. the presentinvention. Fig. 2 is a bottom elevational view of the table andassociated mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 3-3 of Fig.1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 4-4 of Fig.1.

' Fig. 5 is a top plan view anism.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the collar forming mechanism takenfrom the'line 6-6 of Fig. 5. i

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line '77 of Fig.6.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 5 with the jaws expanded andwith the top cover plate removed to r'no're clearly show the interiorconstruction, taken upon of the collar forming mechthe line 8-8 of Fig.1.

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the Fig. 10 is atransverse vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 9 with the jawscollapsed and with the cover plate in position.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 8 but upon a small scale ascompared to Fig. 8 showing the posi tion of the jaws when movedtogether.

Fig. 12 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 12-12 ofFig. 5 showing the collar forming jaws together.

Fig. 13 is a transverse vertical sectional view similar a to Fig. 12showing the collar forming jaws in separated Fatented Apr. 5, 1960 uponthe line 16-16 of Fig. 12 showing the guiding system for the collarforming jaws.

Fig. 17 is a horizontal sectional view taken upon the line 17-17 of Fig.13 showing the collar jaw guiding mechanism of Fig. 17 with the jaws inclosed position.

Fig. 18 is a top plan view of an alternative construction with the jawscollapsed together.

Fig. 19 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 18 with the jaws in expandedposition.

Fig. 20 is a bottom plan view corresponding to Fig. 18 showing the jawsin contracted position.

Fig. 21 is a bottom plan view corresponding to Fig. l9

with the jaws in expanded position.

Fig. 22. is a transverse vertical sectional view taken upon the line2222 of Fig. 19. i

Fig. 23 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken upon the line23-23 of Fig. 19.

Fig. 24 is a front elevational view showing the control panel of thecollar forming and shirt folding mechanism of Figs. 18 to 23.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 there is shown a table A having the legs B andthe treadle operator C.

At one end of the table is positioned the swinging holder plate D onwhich the body of the shirt is placed after the. front is buttoned, andover the back of which the sleeves and tails are folded and pinned intoposition.

The collar of the shirt will be formed by the collar forming mechanism Ewhich is shown in greater detail in Figs. 5 to 17.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noted that the table top has acentral groove 10 to guide and receive the buttoned front of the shirt,and it has the side brackets .11 which are bolted or riveted asindicated at 12 upon the side legs B.

Connecting the side legs B are the transverse structures 13 which havethe upper and lower cross bars 14 and the mesh 15.

The threadle structure C is supported by the angle member 16 from thetransverse bar 17 which is held as indicated at 18 in the lower part ofthe transverse structure 13. i

The treadle structure serves to control a valving arrangement in thecasing indicated at 19 in Figs. 1 to 4 which will admit air underpressure from the inlet conduit- 20 to the outlet conduit 21.

A gauge 22 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is provided to indicate the airpressure available.

Referring to the collar forming jaw mechanism as shown in Figs. 5 to 13,there are shown the front jaw F and the side .jaws G and H.

These jaws are operated by a pneumatic cylinder 1 and they arereciprocated under a triangular cover plate K which corresponds in sizesubstantially to the neck opening of the shirt. I

The front jaw F as shown in Fig. '12 has the curved forward edge whichcontacts the collar adjacent the.

neckband, and it has the upper and lower projecting portions 31 and 32.i

This front-member F is mounted upon the plate 33 which in turn iscarried by the reciprocating member 34. The upper and lower rods 35 and36 form guides.

The rod 35 passes through the body of the member 34 and 37. The bottomguide rod 36 passes through a slot 38 in the lower portion of the member34.

The guide rods 35 and 36 are mounted as indicated at 39 and 40 upon theend plate 41 which has an overhanging flange 42.

Between the guide rods 35 and 36 is the drive rod 43 which is driven bythe motor I and which carries the collars 44 and 45. These collars arefixed on each side of the reciprocating member 34.

The collar 45 forms a forward extension of the triangular member 60which, as shown in Figs. 14 to 16, has the inclined slots 61 and 62 intowhich project the 4 studs 63 and 64. These studs 63 and 64 projectdownwardly from the head members G and H.

It will be noted that the ends 65 and 66 of the guide rods 35 and 36 arefixed in position in the blocks 67 and 68 by means of the set screws 69and 70.

In the same blocks 67 and 68 there are fixed the transverse guide rods71 and 72 by the set screws 73 and 74. These transverse guide rods 71and 72 guide the lateral reciprocation of the side forming blocks G. andH.

Between the laterally expanding blocks G and H is positioned the centralstandard member 75 on which the plate K is'mounted by means of the boltsor screws 76.

This upright member 75 has a flange 76 which is mounted upon the baseplate. 77 which in turn is supported on the cross bar member 78.

The blocks G and H as shown best in Fig. 7 have the curved faces 79 and80 and the corner elements 81 and 82 to form the side edges of theformed corner structure.

Each of the blocks G and H is provided with the sliding extensions 83and 84 which telescope in back of one another to form a support for theback of the collar during the forming operation. v It will be noted thateach of the elements'F, G and H is provided with electrical conduits 95,96 and 97 (see Figs. 14 and 15) which heat the blocks F, G and H to thepredetermined desired elevated temperature which is required during thecollar forming operation.

These electrical conduits 95, 96 and 97 have sufiicient slack as shownin Figs. 14 and 15 to accommodate the movement of the blocks F, G and Hwhen they are supplied from the junction box M.

The adjacent edges of the blocks F, G and H are beveled, as indicated at98, 99, 100, 101, 102 and 103, so that they may nest together incollapsed position as indicated in Fig. 11.

At the same time the upright member 75 also has the beveled edges 104and 105 to match with and nest with the edges 100 and 101 of the sideblocks G and H.

As shown in Fig. 9 the blocks G and H are mounted upon the plates 106and 107 which in turn are mounted upon the blocks 108 and 109 (see Fig.9) which are carried by the bolts 110 and 111 upon the sliding basemembers 112 and 113.

As shown in- Fig. 9 these base members 112 and 113 have the openings orrecesses 114 and 115 which receive the rod 71 and they also have theslots 116 and 117 which receive the lower guide rod 72.

Each of the members 112 and 113 have the clevises or yokes 118 and 119which carry the guide studs 63 and 64 which ride in the slots 61 and 62of the triangular member 60.

It is thus apparent as the motor I is actuated by the foot treadle C itwill separate the jaw members or former elements F, G and H to stretchand correctly position and form the collar. Then release of the treadlewill permit the elements F, G and H to resume their initial collapsedposition for assembly as indicated in Fig. 11.

The plate K as shown in Fig. 5 will receive the collar in its originalposition before expansion of the forming elements F, G and H when theyare in nested position as shown in Fig. 11.

The heating of the forming elements F, G and H may be regulated by meansof the adjustment shown best in Fig. 6, which will come' slightly abovethe top flange 126 of the rear plate 127.

The side box M may be provided with the switch 128 to switch the heatingarrangement on and 011.

In operation the shirt is first buttoned and slipped over the piate Dwhich may be hinged upwardly on the hinge structure 129 as shown in Fig.l. The collar is facing downwardly and the sleeves and the tail areloose. Then the plate D is lowered so that the collar will extenddownwardly over the collapsed jaws F, G and H and over the triangulartop plate K.

Actuation of the treadle C will then expand the jaws The tail of theshirt is then turned upwardly over the plate D and the sleeves arepinned in position, by which time the collar will have been formed. Thenupon lifting the swinging plate D theentire shirt with the formed collarmay be removed.

In the alternative structure shown in Figs. 18 to 24 the reciprocatingmembers P, Q and R serve the same function as the members F, G and H ofFigs. 5 to 13.

As shown in the bottom views of Figs. 20 and 21 there is a rectangularframe structure S which carries the pneumatic motor T and thereciprocating plate U. I

The plate U has the upturned flanges 150 and 151 at the rear and forwardends thereof respectively. The plate 151 has mounted upon it anauxiliary plate 152 with the downwardly extending tab 153 (see Fig. 22).

The tab 153 is connected to the connecting rod 154 associated with thepneumatic motor T. The motor T has the pressure connection 155 (seeFigs. 18 and 19) and the junction 156. The junction 156 is provided withthe control valve 157.

The motor T is mounted upon the front plate 158 having the top flange159.

The flange 151 carries the base structure 160 ofthe front element P. i

The base structure 160 carries the top structure P on which the collarforming jaw may be mounted.

Referring to Fig. 23 it will be noted that there are two guide rods 161fitting in the opening 162 and 163 fitting in the slot 164.

The plate U as best shown in Figs. 20 and 21 has the oblique slots 165and 166 which receive the rollers 167 and 168 which are connected to theplates Q and R which carry the lateral forming block members.

These members are guided in their lateral movement by means of frontguide rod 169 and the rear guide rod 170 and they are connected at theirends in the side plates 171 and 172 as indicated at 173 and 174.

The laterally expanding members are provided with the base structures175 and 176 which, as shown in Fig. 22, have a recess 177 to receive theguide rod 170 and the slot 178 to receive the forward guide rod 169.

The elements Q and R are associated with the fixed block 179 whichcarries the top block 180 provided with the electrical heating cableconnections 181.

The panel board 182 as best shown in Fig. 24 has the section 183 withswitches 184, 185 and 186 respectively to control the electricalconnections to the sides, rear and front. There is also provided thelight 187 indicating when the power is on.

The main control knob 188 may be used to adjust the mechanism. The mountof heat is regulated by the tuming knob 189 on the panel 190 which isprovided with the graduations 191.

Suitable head members or forming elements may be positioned upon thereciprocating members P, Q and R as shown in Figs. 5 to 13 to give thedesired forming operation by means of a treadle and other associatedmechanism as previously described.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has devised a simple shirtfolding and collar forming mechanism useful both for laundries as wellas for shirt manufacturing concerns which will correctly position andadjust the collar and form it at the desired angle to the Shirt body.

The blocks may be changed depending upon the shape and form of collardesired and various changes in the blocks may be made depending upon theangle which is to be formed in the shirt collar.

The entire arrangement enables a high speed operaand 226 mounted uponthe rotating shaft 163 having the handle 188.

When the handle 188 is rotated, the pins 225 and 226 may be moved intothe slots 228 and 229 in the fixed block 179 and the movable structure160. In this position the member P will be held fixed while the membersR and Q may reciprocate together or apart.

It willbe noted that the reciprocating plate U also is provided with theslot 230 into which the pin 226 may be rotated.

In other words, the pin 226 may either be in disengaged position asshown in Figs. 22 and 23 or in the slot 229 to fix the structure or inthe slot 230 to fix the plate structure U.

While there has herein been illustrated and described the preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that applicant doesnot limit himself to the precise construction herein disclosed, and theright is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within thescope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

A collar forming machine of the type having an elevated horizontal tabletop member with a central longitudinally extending groove to guide andreceive the buttoned front of the shirt, a swinging holder plate tocarry thebody of the short and over the back of which the sleeves andtails are folded, said top member having a central recess under saidplate; a collar forming mechanism positioned in said recess having atriangular top cover plate, a fixed back structure and a longitudinallyreciprocating front block and laterally reciprocating side blocks movingoutwardly from under said cover, upper and lower laterally andlongitudinally extending pull rods guiding the movement of said blocks,a triangular guide plate member having obliquely extending slots, studsprojecting downwardly from said laterally moving blocks projecting intosaid slots, said laterally moving blocks having rear telescopingextensions, the adjacent edges of the blocks being bevelled so that theywill nest together when collapsed, a pneumatic motor, treadle operatedactuated means for actuating said motor, means to lock the blocksagainst movement and actuating connections between said pneumatic motorand said guide plate member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,172,857 Steele Sept. 12, 1939 2,192,786 Campbell Mar. 5, 19402,665,039 Neckel Jan. 5, 1954 2,768,774 Rieck Oct. 30, 1956 2,769,585Goldstein Nov. 6, 1956 2,829,809 Freeman Apr. 8, 1958

